Brown shoots down drone bills

A squadron of drone bills that emerged from the Legislature wound up crashing on the governor’s desk.

Gov. Brown vetoed three measures over the weekend that sought to block drones from flying over schools or prisons, and which would have allowed emergency personnel to shoot down a drone if it came into a fire zone. The legislation carried penalties of up to $5,000 in fines and six months in jail for drone operators.

The rapid proliferation of drones captured public attention this year after firefighters reported their operations were delayed as they fought grass and wild land fires.

But the Democratic governor said he was loathe to create new categories of criminal conduct. Last month, Brown also vetoed legislation that would have made it a crime to fly a drone within 350 feet above private property.